Co-worker stole my ID

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did you ever use someone elses idenity to steel narcotics form an acudose machine? How did it make you feel when you had to work with that nurse again that you stole her idenity from?

So what are you supposed to do when you are really in severe pain from a medical problem?

No different if you drive drunk and get a DUI you lose your nursing licence. This is worse, you knew it was wrong and you used your nursing licence and a doctors name to get the drug ergo you should lose your nursing licence, for how long that is up to the individual state. Why didn't you just buy it on the street like all the other addicts. Sorry but being a nurse addict does not put you a step above the other addicts. In some states you cannot work as a nurse with any record. A crime is a crime and any felony arrests will cause the loss of a nursing licence. Maybe your state will take pity on you and after a long probation, you can get it back. If you are trully in pain you go to a MD and you get prescription medication. He also will document that you have pain and you will be covered.

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Specializes in Lie detection.
sorry but being a nurse addict does not put you a step above the other addicts. in some states you cannot work as a nurse with any record. a crime is a crime and any felony arrests will cause the loss of a nursing licence. maybe your state will take pity on you and after a long probation, you can get it back. if you are trully in pain you go to a md and you get prescription medication. he also will document that you have pain and you will be covered.

all of the nurses in recovery that i know don't feel like they are a "step above" anybody. i wonder where that idea came from???

pity?? oh no. most bon's certainly are not giving of any pity that's for sure! but many do understand that addiction is a disease recognized by the ama. thus, the nurse gets the opportunity to be treated. i'm glad that the bon's have moved out of the dark ages and nurses are no longer banished.

i know some would like us to be gone from nursing but the state bon's don't see it that way. they do provide a long, strict treatment program and that is great for those of us that want to fight this disease.

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All states may not have an impaired nurse program, but all states do look at each case individually. A DUI is not an automatic loss of license. BONs do not want to revoke licenses for anything, they want people to be safe to practice. With help people with chemical dependencies can practice safely once again. There are a bunch of us on here who are living proof of that.

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Specializes in ER, ICU, L&D, OR.
All states may not have an impaired nurse program, but all states do look at each case individually. A DUI is not an automatic loss of license. BONs do not want to revoke licenses for anything, they want people to be safe to practice. With help people with chemical dependencies can practice safely once again. There are a bunch of us on here who are living proof of that.

A DUI should be cause for license revocation. Just ask the two patients I took care of last night in ER who were hit by a drunk driver. Of course the drunk wasn't injured. But he did go to jail. In Handcuffs. I liked That.

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No different if you drive drunk and get a DUI you lose your nursing licence. This is worse, you knew it was wrong and you used your nursing licence and a doctors name to get the drug ergo you should lose your nursing licence, for how long that is up to the individual state. Why didn't you just buy it on the street like all the other addicts. Sorry but being a nurse addict does not put you a step above the other addicts. In some states you cannot work as a nurse with any record. A crime is a crime and any felony arrests will cause the loss of a nursing licence. Maybe your state will take pity on you and after a long probation, you can get it back. If you are trully in pain you go to a MD and you get prescription medication. He also will document that you have pain and you will be covered.

jess, did you misunderstand this post? or not read it thoroughly?...the question referred to "what do you do for pain relief when you have a medical condition requiring ths class of med" as Tazzi realized and answered......

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Specializes in Lie detection.

A question for for anyone?

Instead of maybe posting what horrible punishments should fall upon nurses that have substance abuse problems how about this.

Has anyone ever thought about doing something to help PREVENT any of this from happening in the first place?

It seems that we have some recovering nurses on here, myself included.

It seems we also have some that have been hurt deeply by addicts.

It just seems to me that so much good could happen if we tried to come up with some way to work together. Or at least come to some kind of understanding.

I know my goal is to eventually HELP my fellow nurses. To educate, so that maybe another nurse WON'T use. I wish that more knowledge had been out there for me. I don't have all the answers, that's why I need all of YOU.

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A DUI should be cause for license revocation. Just ask the two patients I took care of last night in ER who were hit by a drunk driver. Of course the drunk wasn't injured. But he did go to jail. In Handcuffs. I liked That.

But it's not. DUIs without injury aren't even cause for jail time, unless it's a repeat offense. If a nurse has a DUI and causes injury then there will be different consequences than a DUI by itself without anyone else involved. That is true of anyone, not just nurses. Cops don't lose their badges with one DUI, so why should a nurse lose her license?

REMINDER: I am differentiating between the nurse who has a simple DUI versus one who causes injury because of it. Big difference, please keep that in mind.

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Specializes in ER OB NICU.

I don't think this will ever be resolved to the satisfaction of all, obviously. It is like jail sentences for specific crimes. The drunk driver who hit me head on, killled himself, but he was 75 years old, and spent his days in the bar, owned no property, had no money, etc. BUT the person who (2 years before) came around a steep curve on my side of the road, forcing me off, or hit him head on, was not drunk, but just went on, as my van rolled end over end, and sideways down a steep embankment. He , obviously, was never punished, and I think that maybe that is the big dissent here, in that there are those who DEMAND PUNISHMENTor, that recourse be addressed. Whether it be jailtime, loss of licences ,=personal humiliation, whatever. Ialways thought that driver must see my van over and over in his sleep, rolling down that embanklment. BUT the guilt never got him to give me his insurance info. or his name, or call to see if I lived.

I have been furious, when some people get away without doing felony crimes over and over and never pay, while somebody else gets jail time the first time. Sometimes, this is because the "criminal"(for lack ofa better word" has enough money to pay a good attorney, or happens to be part of a well known family whose attorney intervenes, or calls in political favors.,etc. Like anybody, when you serve your time for the crime, our country is set up to give you a new chance and start. That is what I believe we all deserve. Whatever you have done, and regret, made ammends and tried to change, should be appreciated. Easy for me to say, but harder to accept when I have been personally affected or hurt.

You need to earn trust, and once you trust, you don't let somebody elses opinion change your mind. The person you trust must be the one to act accordingly and maintain that trust.

I can't think of a situation where it is always either or. and crimes that always demand the exact punishment. Am I a bleeding heart?Hardly, I just have seen so many left in a situation they would never choose, but could not avoid. Many say that the punishent must fit the crime.

My only thoughts are that if there is a set 1, 2,3, protocol for a stated offense. than follow that for everyone, and if they complete it successfully, then applaud them.

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jess, did you misunderstand this post? or not read it thoroughly?...the question referred to "what do you do for pain relief when you have a medical condition requiring ths class of med" as Tazzi realized and answered......

Actually I read the entire post which I think you did not. This is a nurse who used another MD's name to phone in a narcotic for herself illegally. Hmm she actually felt this was the way to do it because she was addicted to precription narcotics and actualy asks how else does she get pain meds?. It does not matter that she was in pain or that she was addicted. Her way of getting the drugs was a crime and should be treated as such. She should not get a redemption because she is a nurse. A non nurse addict would not get a reduction so why should a nurse. As I said in my post. A crime is a crime and using your liscence to commit a crime should mean you lose it.

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Jess, Morte was referring to the question "What do you do for pain meds?", not the OP. The question was about addicts using pain meds for legit reasons.

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Specializes in Lie detection.
She should not get a redemption because she is a nurse. A non nurse addict would not get a reduction so why should a nurse. .

Actually, a LOT of "non-nurse addicts" get reductions in sentencing and such, especially if they go to treatment. Do you really think that all addicts go to jail? No way. There is a thing called Drug Court in many states. It is a special court designed to deal with drug offenders, including addicts.

It seems that there continues to be a lot of misinformation out there and a lot of anger. I'd rather have people ask questions than jump to conclusions or lump everyone into one category.

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Specializes in ER, ICU, L&D, OR.
But it's not. DUIs without injury aren't even cause for jail time, unless it's a repeat offense. If a nurse has a DUI and causes injury then there will be different consequences than a DUI by itself without anyone else involved. That is true of anyone, not just nurses. Cops don't lose their badges with one DUI, so why should a nurse lose her license?

REMINDER: I am differentiating between the nurse who has a simple DUI versus one who causes injury because of it. Big difference, please keep that in mind.

Sorry, but DUIs even without injury should be cause for automatic jail time, Give them an automatic 60 days in jail. All of them. DUIs whether its alcohol or drugs. All of them. Then those with injuries might occur less often. But when they do, there are higher charges involved.

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